The Particularity of Jesus Christ: An Analysis of Revelation in the Theologies of Karl Barth and Edward Schillebeeckx

The idea that the Divine, the one Christians refer to as God, intruded into human history-in the form of a man at a particular time and a particular place is a radical one. Indeed, the Scriptures for the Christian faith contend that, in the man Jesus of Nazareth, God has revealed not simply information about Himself, but His very self. Few deny that a Galilean named Jesus walked this earth we inhabit some two thousand years ago. The issue of debate is the identity of this man who, by all accounts, was quite human, and yet unique in his humanity. That is to say, scores of lives were changed and continue to be changed by this Jesus, the one Christians confess as the Christ. Who was he? Who is he? It is this question of Jesus\u27 particularity with specific reference to divine revelation that lies at the heart of the present project. Karl Barth and Edward Schillebeeckx are two theologians who represent diverse theological and ecclesiological traditions: the former a staunch Protestant in the Reformed tradition, the latter a Dominican priest in the Roman Catholic tradition. Though their backgrounds are seemingly worlds apart, they share many theological concerns which are constitutive of their respective programs. Revelation is an important focal point for both. In drawing attention to the doctrine of revelation we are given the opportunity to ask of these two individuals: Who do you believe Jesus to be? And why does this figure stand at the center of your theological program? This is to ask of Barth and Schillebeeckx: Why Jesus in particular?..